Shopify announces iPad-centric POS system
Shopify has been around a while as an online storefront provider; one of the best stores for buying items that have made it out of Kickstarter and into production -- BiteMyApple.co -- is a good example of an online Shopify store. Now Shopify is making it possible for store owners to open physical storefronts to sell their wares with an iPad-based point-of-sale system called Shopify POS.
A complete "store in a box" that includes a card reader, receipt printer, cash drawer, and mount for an iPad supplied by the store owner runs US$499. Should you not need the cash drawer, the price goes down to $399, and if you run a pop-up store (say, selling art at festivals or food products at a farmer's market), a system is available for just $149. If all you need is a card reader, which can be had for $19. There's also a $49 monthly fee, and a swipe rate of 2.1 to 2.5 percent depending on the Shopify plan used.
The free Shopify POS iPad app is the key to the store, listing all of the products in a store and then providing a way for customers to pay for the goods. Receipts are either printed on-site or sent through email.
The app gives store owners the ability to sell both online and in physical stores, managing inventory for both and providing the analytics to show what products are flying out the doors and which are collecting dust. Shopify POS is available today.
[via MacRumors]
